ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI)- Parents, business leaders and local clergy came together Monday afternoon to call on the state to ensure all students have access to critical courses in high school.

A new report from the New York Equity Coalition shows that many black and Latino students don’t have the same access to high level and advanced placement courses as their white peers.

Many go to schools that don’t even offer these courses. Three out of four black students and four out of five Latino students in the city school district attend schools where calculus classes aren’t even offered.

Gladys Pedraza-Burgos is the Chief Operations Officer at Ibero.

“Rochester’s legacy is largely defined by its leadership in science, technology and innovation. Yet, as the report highlights, not everyone has the same opportunity to learn skills that will allow them to enter and excel in the high demand high wage industry.”

Adrian Hale is the Strategic Initiatives Manager for the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, he said it’s no question poverty is an issue in Rochester.

“And when you graduate a young student, ill-equipped to participate in the labor market, or start an entrepreneurship enterprise, you are pretty much putting them in the cycle to repeat the same conditions they were born into.”

Hale says students need to be prepared to careers once they leave high school, and deserve the same access to quality teachers, classes and courses.

The Urban League of Rochester is supporting a 5 by 25 campaign, a list of initiatives to better prepare students in the graduating class of 2025, including all students having access to AP classes, 4th year math, and the opportunity to get college credit in high school.

ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) – Heavy rains are causing problems in parts of the Finger Lakes on Tuesday morning. Some of the heaviest rain and worst flood appears to be in Seneca County. The Seneca County Sheriff’s dept. says that heavy rain has resulted in major flooding in the Towns of Covert, and Lodi.

No unnecessary travel is advised there, with numerous homes and roadways are flooded, and some roads impassable. All residents in the affected areas were advised to shelter in place just before 8am on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service issued an advisory Tuesday morning, saying that heavy rain will continue across much of Wayne and Ontario counties Tuesday morning. The rain is moving southwest, and will also begin to impact the eastern suburbs of Rochester. The weather service advises commuters allow extra time and watch for minor flooding in poor drainage areas.

SYRACUSE, NY (WRVO) – President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were at Fort Drum where Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act, which included more than $700 billion in military spending.

Trump had high praise for the soldiers at Fort Drum.

“No one better understands how stretched our military has become than the solders of the 10th Mountain Division,” Trump said. “You were the first conventional combat force to deploy after 9/11. Since then, no division in the Army has been deployed more times to Iraq and Afghanistan than you.”

Trump called Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Willsboro) out on stage with him to thank her for inviting him to the base.

But anti-Trump protesters were in alsoWatertown marking the president’s visit.

Organizers of the protest said it was one of the largest they have had in Watertown. Labor, women’s rights and environmental groups came from across central and northern New York.

Amanda Glidden. CREDIT TOM MAGNARELLI / WRVO

Amanda Glidden of Watertown is an Army spouse who said she knows honor and duty to the country and she said Trump is not showing much.

“His idea of support for the military is to spend a bunch of their money throwing parades in his own honor, which is something a dictator does, not something a president does,” Glidden said. “A president supports his military by making sure that veterans are taken care of, making sure that mental health issues are brought to light, that suicide prevention is supported, that spouses are protected and that programs for their education and their children’s education are continued. None of those things are what’s important to Trump. It’s quite frustrating to watch him devote more money to equipment the armed forces themselves say they don’t need and less money to their everyday life, to their quality of life, and reward them for their dedication to the country.”

Many at the protest were supporters of Stefnik’s Democratic challenger in the 21st Congressional District race, Tedra Cobb, including Matthew Karney of Natural Bridge. He said it was atrocious and ironic Stefanik invited Trump to Fort Drum to sign the defense bill named after Sen. John McCain.

Protester in Public Square. CREDIT TOM MAGNARELLI / WRVO

“Trump has blatantly been disrespectful, to say the least, to John McCain,” Karney said. “I’m really disgusted with the way things are going. I really feel that the rule of law is being challenged by the Trump administration. Health care is being hobbled. Many people are willing to vote against their best interest because they are conned by Donald Trump.”

Trump did not mention McCain during his Fort Drum speech.

Many cars passing by honked their horns in support of the protesters, while others chanted, “Trump, Trump, Trump,” out their windows.

Veterans for Peace. CREDIT TOM MAGNARELLI / WRVO

Christopher Jamison with Veterans for Peace said Trump has the wrong priorities when it comes to military spending.

“We’re not against the raises, spending health care for veterans, the V.A., but the money that he is spending on weapons systems that the Pentagon doesn’t even want, is ludicrous,” Jamison said. “If we’re going to spend money, we need to spend it here at home and take care of the folks at home.”

After the signing cermony at Fort Drum, Trump flew to Griffiss International Airport in Rome, where he was greeted by supporters and Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-New Hartford). Trump and Tenney then traveled to Utica for a private fundraiser.

Tom Magnarelli@TomMagnarelli

Lots of horn honking at Watertown Public Square as protesters rally against @realDonaldTrump visit to Fort Drum

]]>https://wskg.org/news/anti-trump-protesters-in-watertown-mark-presidents-fort-drum-visit/feed/0Hundreds Greet Trump In Utica With Cheers, Jeershttps://wskg.org/news/hundreds-greet-trump-in-utica-with-cheers-jeers/
https://wskg.org/news/hundreds-greet-trump-in-utica-with-cheers-jeers/#respondTue, 14 Aug 2018 12:01:57 +0000https://wskg.org/?p=297333After signing the National Defense Authorization Act into law at the Fort Drum Military Base in Watertown Monday, President Donald Trump visited Utica – the first sitting president to do so in 70 years. He was there to headline a fundraiser for Mohawk Valley Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-New Hartford).

Trump supporters chanted his name and waved American flags as his motorcade arrived at the Hotel Utica.

A Trump supporter waves an American flag with a Trump campaign logo on the back to welcome the president for his trip to Utica. CREDIT PAYNE HORNING / WRVO NEWS

“Regardless that New York state typically votes Democrat, his support in is very, very strong – at least in upstate,” said Dave Ciccone, who hoisted a large, cardboard cutout of Trump above his head.

Ciccone says Trump is the greatest president in American history.

“I love his economic policies, I love that we’re stronger on a global scale with the military at least, Hell – he gave me more money in my taxes,” Ciccone said. “He’s bringing jobs back, I like that he’s destroying MS-13, destroying ISIS and I think he brings back American tradition.”

Chris Williams lauded Trump for accomplishing his goals like the tax overhaul.

“Donald Trump ran on a platform and he kept his word and he has implemented his platform,” Williams said.

Down the street, a crowd of protesters nearly twice the size held up signs that featured scathing reviews of Trump’s performance, including the tax overhaul, attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and hard-line immigration policies.

Cindy Stewart said Trump’s zero-tolerance policy of prosecuting everyone who crosses into the country illegally and similar efforts to crackdown on immigration is the antithesis of what Utica has done, a city where 20 percent of the population is foreign born.

“I believe that immigrants enhance life for all of us,” Stewart said. “It’s kept some of the upstate New York cities alive. We’ve had a loss of population and the immigrants have filled that and created new jobs and new communities and I think that’s a valuable asset.”

Others like Jerry Farnsworth said they were demonstrating to galvanize people to the polls this fall in an effort to strip Trump of his support in Congress by voting out representatives like Tenney.

“What we have to do is encourage with this kind of spirit and this kind rationality and justice those people who need to come out and make a difference and take our country back,” Farnsworth said.

FORT DRUM, NY (North County Public Radio and WRVO) – The National Defense Authorization Act for 2019 gives troops their largest pay increase in nearly a decade and starts laying the groundwork for the president’s proposed Space Force.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence landed in their respective planes — Air Force One and Air Force Two — at Fort Drum Monday afternoon for a ceremonial bill signing. It was Trump’s first visit to the North Country since winning his election in 2016.

“It’s a tight-knit community.”

A presidential visit is a big deal at a military base. As of this Monday, Private Skyler Hensley had only been stationed at Fort Drum for five months. “I can’t believe I was invited to come here,” Hensley said. “This is crazy.”

Soldiers waited in a humid hangar at the Wheeler-Sack Airfield for hours. They noshed on bagels and chips, as their kids got to play inside a Blackhawk helicopter, and fill up on free cookies.

Staff Sergeant Brian Bridge said that regardless of your politics, hosting the signing of the National Defense Authorization Act is an honor. “It’s a small community. It’s a tight-knit community,” Bridge said. “It means a lot to the people of Fort Drum that he would pick here to sign the NDAA.”

A moment for Stefanik and Trump

The president and vice president were greeted on the tarmac by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Willsboro), who formally invited Trump to visit the Army base back in March.

Speaking to the roughly 800 military personnel and families who gathered for the bill signing ceremony at Wheeler-Sack Airfield, President Trump called Stefanik “an incredible representative” and said she was the driving force behind his trip.

“I have to tell you about Elise,” Trump said. “She called me so many times. I said, ‘I don’t want to take her call.’ She wanted me to be here. I said, ‘I won’t be able to. We’ll have to change a lot of scheduling.’ But that didn’t suit her. She didn’t stop, and here I am.”

While Stefanik tends to vote with the president’s agenda, she has also criticized some of his signature policies and statements over the past 18 months. But there was no sign of that tension on Monday, as the president asked Stefanik to join him on stage.

“It is truly an honor to welcome you to Fort Drum,” Stefanik said. “Thank you for being here to sign the historic National Defense Authorization Act, which includes the largest pay increase [since 2010], support for our military families, and investing in our military readiness.”

Unraveling the military defense bill

Each year, Congress passes a new National Defense Authorization Act to set military spending levels for the year ahead. The 2019 bill, which President Trump signed on Monday, includes $716 billion in funding for the armed forces and related programs. That’s an additional $24 billion over the current fiscal year. (But if you consider inflation — which is how far a dollar actually stretches these days — funding will drop slightly in 2019.)

President Trump said troops can expect a 2.6 percent pay increase next year. The military will also be allowed to bring on nearly 16,000 additional troops, spread across active duty and reserves. Trump told the troops at Fort Drum that the NDAA will provide access to “the finest planes and tanks and ships and missiles [pause] anywhere on Earth.” Under the new spending plan, the Pentagon is authorized to purchase 77 F-35 fighter jets at a cost of nearly $7.6 billion, among other aircraft and equipment.

Finally, Trump said the bill new lays the groundwork for his proposed Space Force, which would be a new, sixth branch of the armed forces.

“Our foreign competitors and adversaries have already begun weaponizing space,” Trump said, adding that communications systems and satellites may be a target. “They’ve given me rundowns. I’ve seen things that you don’t even want to see — what they’re doing and how advanced they are. We’ll be catching them very shortly.”

The 2019 NDAA passed Congress with bipartisan support, although New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, voted against it. The bill is officially named after Arizona Senator and longtime Republican leader John McCain. But none of the speakers at the bill signing — President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, or Rep. Stefanik — mentioned McCain at all.

Amanda Glidden is an Army spouse who lives in Watertown. She said Trump doesn’t know what supporting the military really means.

“His idea of support for the military is to spend a bunch of their money throwing parades in his own honor, which is something a dictator does, not something a president does,” Glidden said. “A president supports his military by making sure that veterans are taken care of, making sure that mental health issues are brought to light, that suicide prevention is supported. None of those things are what’s important to Trump.”

The 10th Mountain Division has been the most-deployed in the Army since 2001. Fort Drum’s headquarters is in the process of returning from Iraq. President Trump said that pace wouldn’t ease: The 2nd Brigade Combat Team will be heading to Afghanistan later this fall.

]]>https://wskg.org/news/president-signs-716-billion-defense-bill-at-fort-drum/feed/0New York State Gets Mixed Grades On Cancer Preventionhttps://wskg.org/news/new-york-state-gets-mixed-grades-on-cancer-prevention/
https://wskg.org/news/new-york-state-gets-mixed-grades-on-cancer-prevention/#respondMon, 13 Aug 2018 12:51:30 +0000https://wskg.org/?p=296374BUFFALO, NY (WBFO) – The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network has released its latest progress report on how states are doing when it comes to passing and implementing policies and legislation to prevent cancer. “How Do You Measure Up?” gave New York generally good grades.

The progress report grades states in nine areas, including smoke-free laws, tobacco tax levels and cessation and cancer screening programs, as compared to best practices.

In our state, Government Relations Director Julie Hart said she is “seriously concerned with New York’s low level of funding for the tobacco control program. New York received a failing grade of red because funding for this crucial program is woefully low.”

Hart said smoking kills more than 28,000 New Yorkers annually and another 13,000 will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year, even though there has been “a small decrease” in the smoking rate. She said too much tobacco money is diverted away from smoking control in New York.

“Just gets diverted and goes into other areas,” Hart said. “So what we want to see is: You know what? We’ve got to commit to increasing funding so that we can help people quit smoking, help prevent kids from beginning this deadly addiction, keeping them away from electronic cigarettes. The bottom line is it’s going to nake New York healthier. We’ll save on healthcare costs.”

The report notes New York improved its grades this year as lawmakers passed legislation to prohibit the use of indoor tanning devices by those under age 18.

“We did make some progress this year. We saw a bill pass both houses that would increase the age to use tanning devices to 18,” Hart said. “We have had a really good conversation with the governor’s office. There should be no problems with the bill. I think it’s just a matter of time until it gets delivered and signed. So we’ve seen a little progress there.”

Hart said New York State does have a “really good” cancer services program that provides free cancer screenings for a few different types of cancer, including breast cancer. She said it provides people who otherwise would not have health insurance coverage the opportunty to get that mammogram or other screening.

“As advocates, we have the opportunity to work with our state legislators on implementing policies and programs that prevent and treat cancer,” said Hart. “Together, we can build stronger, healthier communities and ensure New Yorkers have access to measures that prevent disease before it occurs, ultimately saving more lives from cancer.”

]]>https://wskg.org/news/new-york-state-gets-mixed-grades-on-cancer-prevention/feed/0Lyme Disease Spiking In Finger Lakes Regionhttps://wskg.org/news/lyme-disease-spiking-in-finger-lakes-region/
https://wskg.org/news/lyme-disease-spiking-in-finger-lakes-region/#respondMon, 13 Aug 2018 12:46:49 +0000https://wskg.org/?p=296369ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) – The number of Lyme disease cases diagnosed in the Finger Lakes region jumped sharply last year, according to the most recent data from the state health department.

The data, while still preliminary, is not expected to change before it’s finalized next month. It shows Lyme disease cases increased almost 600 percent in the health department’s Finger Lakes region, from 62 in 2012 to 365 in 2017.

Bryon Backenson, the health department’s deputy director of communicable disease control, said the disease, and the ticks that carry it, have been “slowly and steadily” expanding westward across New York state.

“Now we’re to the point where, at certain parts of the state, such as the Finger Lakes, Rochester, and getting closer to Buffalo, we start to see Lyme where people perhaps hadn’t seen it in the past,” Backenson said.

Ticks are spreading to new areas in New York, bringing Lyme disease with them. CREDIT SCOTT BAUER / USDA

The disease, carried by bacteria in the saliva of some ticks, first shows up with a skin rash, headache and fever, and then, in some cases, leading to arthritis, neurological damage, and heart problems.

Backenson said changing weather patterns might be partially to blame for the surge in the Finger Lakes. “This combination of slightly warmer temperatures, plus slightly more humid conditions, almost on a year-round basis now, makes it so that ticks can survive more than they have in the past, and it also makes it so their active season is a bit longer than it has been,” he said.

Backenson also cautioned that tick season does not conclude with the end of summer. Adult ticks typically stay active through Thanksgiving, he said, encouraging people to wear long pants tucked into their socks to minimize the chances of a tick getting on their skin.

Western counties like Niagara and Wyoming have not seen the spike in Lyme cases. Reports of the disease there have been in the single digits since the state began keeping records in 1994.

Backenson said there’s no reason to expect it to stay that way, though. “People can get Lyme disease in the Finger Lakes, and people can get Lyme disease all across New York state,” he said.

That followed an appearance in Lockport earlier in the day, as McMurray tries to build on recent moment caused by the indictment of Republican incumbent Chris Collins on insider trading charges, and then, Collins’ announcement on Saturday that he would be suspending his campaign.

Credit Randy Gorbman / WXXI News

Collins has said he would serve out the remaining months of his term this year, but McMurray and other Democrats want Collins to resign now.

“It was time for him to go and now we need him to resign from the seat in Congress; he’s collecting a paycheck, he’s collecting a pension from this, he’s earning a pension from this, he shouldn’t be there…he needs to resign,” McMurray said.

Even though Republicans may possibly be able to get a substitute candidate on the ballot, McMurray says he would still rather face whoever that will be rather than Collins, even though Collins is under indictment.

“Because he’s entrenched, he’s an incumbent, and we know from the statistics it’s always harder to beat an incumbent. He’s someone that has infrastructure in place, a team in place, a staff in place. They’re going to get somebody who’s got money and who’s got resources, but it’s going to be different than fighting an incumbent.”

McMurray says he has been in talks with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to see whether the national group can offer any additional support to his campaign.

“We’re in constant communication we’re trying to figure out what the right role for them to play is; what I’ll tell you right now is, no one’s going to change me. My message has been my message from the get-go, I don’t use pollsters, I don’t use focus groups, I don’t use any of that; I speak from my heart, and my compass is the same compass it’s always been.”

ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) – Luticha Doucette always knew she wanted to be a scientist, even if no one else thought she could do it.

“I was very much discouraged from going into the sciences. People would be like, ‘Well, don’t you want to be a teacher?’ And I would be like, yeah, teachers are great, but that’s not what my heart was in.”

Doucette ended up at Rochester Institute of Technology where she majored in bioinformatics — but it wasn’t easy. For instance, in organic chemistry, she had a problem using the fume hoods. They’re basically these clear boxes that sit on a lab counter and you have to do your experiments inside them, so they can ventilate all the noxious fumes. The problem for Doucette is, they’re made for people of a certain height.

“Not only am I short – and I’m just short because, thanks mom your genes suck! I’m only 4’9 and a half, so as a woman who would stand, I’m still too short for this thing – but in a wheelchair I’m even more short.”

Because she uses a wheelchair, Doucette needed an adjustable height fume hood. She advocated for one, and eventually the school invested in the equipment, but the whole process delayed her college career.

“Once those were installed I was able to finish my classes but that took three years so instead of taking three or four years to graduate, it took me seven years.”

Doucette also studied at other colleges and did work in a graduate program at a different university. Every experience, she says, there was challenge just to be able to do the coursework — from physical barriers, like step entrances into controlled laboratory environments, to social barriers, like classrooms that could only be entered through back-door service elevators.

“You’d think that with the Americans with Disabilities Act and all this great stuff that I would not have encountered any of that. But no it was just barrier after barrier after barrier.”

Under the ADA, universities are required to provide reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities to access their programs. Susan Ackerman is the disabilities coordinator at RIT.

“I think in general RIT and other colleges understand it’s the law to make accommodations and they do it.”

Ackerman says RIT, like any college, has financial limitations. Often, they have to get creative with their approaches to accessibility. But she says she has never encountered a situation where she thought the law didn’t go far enough.

“This type of office is to make sure that people aren’t discriminated against due to their disability. So the law right now is written pretty clearly about that.”

But Doucette says the extra time and effort it took her to get her degree is by its nature discrimination. And where you come down on this has a lot to do with how you define accessibility.

“What is program accessibility? Some universities interpret it in a narrow way.”

This is Ed Steinfeld, he’s the director for the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access. He says, accessibility is not just about physical space and building ramps and wide doorways. It’s about making a place where all people feel welcome and involved.

“Ultimately a university has to have a culture of inclusion, number one, and then they have to think about inclusion as including disability.”

Doucette did not feel included, so, when the time came, she decided not to pursue a PhD.

“I don’t know, is there room for radical black queers who are kind of fem in science? Like, at that point, I was just tired of constantly fighting for accommodations, and not knowing if that’s going to be your future. You just get really tired of fighting. I was like, I just want a steady paycheck. I want a cool apartment, cats, more cats…”

Today, Doucette still works in science. She is with the City of Rochester’s Office of Innovation, working with a team of people who use data analysis to tackle some of the city’s biggest problems, like poverty, public health, and access.

“I am not only creating the policy, I am also impacted by the policy, I know people who are impacted by the policy, so it’s easier to get input and ideas and make sure that we’re moving forward in the right direction.”

]]>https://wskg.org/news/some-science-and-high-tech-jobs-simply-not-accessible/feed/0President Trump Visits Upstate NY Todayhttps://wskg.org/news/president-trump-visits-upstate-ny-today/
https://wskg.org/news/president-trump-visits-upstate-ny-today/#respondMon, 13 Aug 2018 12:21:37 +0000https://wskg.org/?p=296344ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) – President Donald Trump will be in Upstate New York on Monday, making a couple of stops. He will first travel to Fort Drum on Monday afternoon where he will sign the National Defense Authorization Act.

North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik invited Trump to visit Fort Drum back in March. It’s Trump’s first visit to Fort Drum since Barack Obama came to the Army base near Watertown in 2011.

Then, later in the afternoon, Trump will fly into Griffiss International Airport in Rome and then motorcade his way into downtown Utica for a private fundraising event to support GOP Central New York Congresswoman Claudia Tenney.

Trump was last in Upstate New York in 2016, during the presidential campaign.

Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y. listens at right as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with members of Congress in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

It remains to be seen whether the president will make any remarks about Rep. Chris Collins, the Western New York Republican who was the first member of Congress to back Trump. Collins was indicted last week on insider trading charges, and on Saturday, announced he was suspending his campaign for re-election.